Wild about Teavivre's Wild Tree Black Tea!

This week I got around to sampling a new tea I recently received from Teavivre, their Nonpareil Yunnan Dian Hong Ancient Wild Tree Black Tea. As soon as I opened the package, I got the sense something was different about this tea. The scent was similar to fresh wood shavings but with a pleasantly musky note as well.

The thin, wiry leaves were a deep, inky black, with a few of those golden bits you find in Yunnan teas. Here's what the website says about this tea: "The local tea tree is Fengqing large leaf species, (which) can produce thick tea leaf. Our Ancient Wild Tree black tea then has large, strong leaves. The dry tea is glossy and dark, covered with thin pekoes. Its full aroma and bold taste can be revealed when brewed, as well as the particular strong taste which brings a characteristic of raw pu-erh to this black tea."

Steeped, the tea had a somewhat smoky fragrance, a pleasant one, and the taste was rich and layered, so much so that I detected different notes with each sip. A rich black tea? Yes, but also smooth and with a taste that, for some reason, made me go, "Aah, fall is on the way." And all that in an unflavored black tea. I was impressed and look forward to enjoying more cups of this fine tea!